Reunion At The Fireworks Festival
by PikaGirl13
Summary: Sakura is depressed because she hasn't heard anything on Sasuke's whereabouts since his departure from the Hidden Leaf Village after the War was over. But when the first Annual Fireworks Festival is underway, will Sasuke make a surprising appearance in the middle of the celebration and will Sakura finally be reunited with Sasuke? A 3-Chapter Story that I hope you read & review!
1. Chapter 1: Preparations For The Firework

Chapter 1: Preparations For The Firework Festival

Summertime was upon the Hidden Leaf Village as people far and wide started to gather for the Annual Firework Festival. Since the Shinobi War ended and there was peace among the Shinobi nations, they decided to hold a celebration of life in summer to celebrate new birth and new beginnings.

"I haven't seen this many foreigners since the Chunin Exams when our class participated for the first time!" Sakura exclaimed nostalgically to Ino as they walked to the Yamanaka Flower Shop to get the new orders for Tsunade.

Ino nodded her head in agreement, "I know what you mean, this Village has been non-stop bustling since Kakashi made the announcement about the Firework Festival. Everyone wants to help out because this is where we all won the War against Kaguya. What better place to celebrate new birth and new beginnings right?"

They giggled as they walked through the door to the Flower Shop and to the counter to pick up the giant batches of lilies that were next on the order list.

Sakura noticed that Ino kept on looking at her brand new bracelet that she received from Sai after their last date. The pink-haired Kunoichi smiled as she teasingly asked, "So when's the big wedding?"

"We aren't getting married yet!" Ino snapped back with a blush on her face, "Besides, that's none of your business billboard-brow!"

Sakura chuckled as they both grabbed the giant bouquets of lilies, "Oh come on Ino, I'm only teasing you. It's great that you two are together now! Sai needs a woman like you in his life to keep him going every single day."

"Isn't that sweet coming from you, it's almost like you've become a whole new woman as soon as the topic of Love enters the picture." Ino replied back, sticking her tongue out as they walked out the door and started to make their way back to Tsunade's residence.

But even though there was a smile on Sakura's face, Ino could tell something was bothering her and had a hunch that it to deal with her own missing man: Sasuke Uchiha. They hadn't heard from him in months and every single time Ino would see Sakura in the street, she would be looking towards the direction of the gate. Like she was expecting Sasuke to walk through it at any moment, but there were no signs of his return.

"Sakura... have you been able to sleep any better at night?" Ino asked her as they started to get closer to Tsunade's place. "You've been awfully depressing lately, even for you."

Sakura didn't even spit back a retort, "I haven't been able to sleep at all, it's been horrible. Every single night I keep thinking that something horrible has happened to Sasuke out on his travels and I can't do anything about it. It's frustrating..." She replied back, stopping in the middle of the street so that she can look at Ino directly.

"I'm sure that Sasuke is fine, he's one of the strongest Shinobi in the entire Hidden Leaf Village. If anyone can take care of themselves without any problems, it's gotta be him. Besides, he made a promise to see you when he gets back right? He would never break a promise that special." Ino reassured Sakura as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she shifted the lilies to her other arm.

Sakura couldn't believe Ino was saying all this to her to make her feel better, not too long ago they were competing for Sasuke's love and now she was reassuring her that Sasuke would be back for her. Ino's kindness really caught her off-guard, but she appreciated having her Best Friend back to talk with in a comfortable manner.

"You're right... I guess I worry too much about him sometimes. Thanks Ino." Sakura replied back with a smile, placing one of her own hands on top of hers. shifting her own flowers into her other arm to do so.

After that, they finally arrived at Tsunade's house where the 5th Hokage was lounging around in her comfortable robes. "What took you two so long? The Flower Shop isn't too far away from here." She asked as her two apprentices came through the door.

"Sorry Lady Tsunade, but I had to cheer up Sakura again from one of her depression phases again. If I didn't she would have fallen with all these lilies and then we would've had to walk all the way back to the shop to get a brand new batch." Ino apologized as she stuck out her tongue again at Sakura, who was giving Ino a look to shut up.

Tsunade's eyebrow raised, "Why're you depressed Sakura? Is it about Sasuke again?" she asked Sakura with a gentle but prying tone in her voice.

"I've just been unable to sleep lately, that's all." Sakura replied back as she set the lilies down on the table for Ino to start rearranging.

But that didn't convince her Master, Tsunade got up from her couch and lifted Sakura's chin so that she was gazing into her eyes. "I know when you're lying to me Sakura. Now talk."

"Fine...It's true that I've been depressed because I've been worrying about Sasuke. I haven't heard anything about his whereabouts and it's almost time for the Firework Festival to begin. I was hoping that he would be back home by now..." Sakura sighed as she turned her gaze to outside the window. Watching everyone get ready for the upcoming celebrations to begin.

Ino sighed, "I told her that she didn't need to worry about Sasuke, since he's one of the strongest Shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village. But billboard-brow is always such a worry wart."

"There's no reason to condone her anxious behavior Ino, she's just worried about her man who is currently out on a journey that he doesn't know where it will take him. Since they were separated for such a long time prior to his departure from the Village, it's only natural that she would miss him so much." Tsunade stated as she wrapped her arms Sakura from behind, bringing her student closer for a comforting hug.

Sakura blushed as she said this, but she knew it was true so she stayed quiet and allowed Tsunade to comfort her in her own way.

"Sasuke made you a promise that he would return to you when he gets back from his journey. A man like him doesn't go back on his promises, so you can count on him coming back to the Hidden Leaf Village. You just have to have faith and patience." Tsunade told Sakura as she unwrapped her arms from her body.

Sakura turned her head from the window and smiled softly at both Ino and Tsunade, "Thanks you two, I needed to hear these words so badly...now let's get back to getting everything prepared for tonight."

And with that, the three women got all the flowers arranged at Tsunade's place and after the preparations there was finished, Ino and Sakura left to help the rest of the Village with upcoming events for the Firework Festival.

"_**Oh Sasuke...I hope you're doing alright and that you'll be home soon...I miss you**_." Sakura thought as slowly in the afternoon, the sun started to set. Revealing diamond stars in the sky.


	2. Chapter 2: Back To Where It Began!

Chapter 2: Back To Where It Began! Advice From the Fortune Teller

When the Annual Firework Festival finally began, Sakura could feel something was different in the air. Even though she couldn't put her finger on it, she felt like something had changed once the Festival started to get underway. But she had no time to ponder her feelings because she was happily greeted by her teammate Naruto. Who was wearing his goofball grin with pride and with an order of Gyoza in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in another, Sakura could tell that he was already having a blast.

"Hey Sakura! What's up, are you having a good time at the festival so far?" Naruto asked as he used his chopsticks to eat one of his Gyoza from his plate.

Sakura smiled and nodded her head, "The Village is really energetic for a place that's like a ghost town once the sun goes down. I've already managed to win a couple of prizes at the game stalls, a few necklaces and a special package of specially crafted kunai knives!"

She held opened up her leather pouch that was strapped around her thigh and she showed off a single silver kunai knife that looked capable of killing a target as soon as it made contact. Naruto's eyes grew wide with needy desire, but before he could touch it he heard someone in the distance call his name. Turning around, he saw Kiba and the rest of Team 8 at a unique looking booth with a pink cloth banner.

"Naruto! Come over here! You gotta come check this out!" Kiba called out to Naruto, waving his hand in the air in a excited fashion. "This stall is wicked cool!"

Naruto looked back at Sakura, who was also looking in the direction of the pink stall cloth and smiled. "Come on, let's go check it out!"

"Sure, sounds like fun." Sakura replied back and together they made their way through the crowds and made it to the pink stall where Kiba had a big grin on his face and Hinata was blushing like mad.

Upon closer inspection, Sakura realized that the stall was a fortune teller station where a beautiful young woman dressed in purple silk robes greeted them with a soft smile. Because of the reputation that she knew fortune tellers for, Sakura started to blush slightly.

"Welcome young Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, my name is Crystal of the Village Hidden in the Sand. I've come to provide my services to the brave heroes who fought the Goddess Kaguya and to provide insight into the future that some of you might be curious to know more about." The young woman told them as she circled her hand around her Crystal ball.

Kiba smiled devilishly at Naruto and Sakura, "We thought you two would be interested in knowing that we got a fortune teller for the Firework Festival. If you have anything you want to know about the future, I recommend you talk to her. I'll tell ya, she's never been proven wrong in any of her readings."

"Sorry if Kiba seems a little arrogant this afternoon, he just got done with his own reading and is just now recovering from the massive fan girl attack he had after his reading was finished." Shino spoke up, adjusting his glasses in his usual cold and analytical way.

Kiba growled, "Shut up Shino, before I crush those glasses of yours without removing them from your face."

"Is that supposed to be your attempt at a threat? Because you're failing miserably even at that." Shino replied back.

Before things got worse between the two teammates, Hinata stepped in-between the two and with a slightly blushing face she said, "Come on you two...calm down and let's have a good evening together. This is the first time we have all had a time to relax, and I hope for at least my sake that you'll not ruin this evening with fighting."

"Hey Hinata, how's it hanging?" Naruto asked innocently as he stepped forward to get closer to her. Hinata's face turned as red as a tomato and suddenly all her confidence drained as she fainted. Making Kiba have to catch her.

The fortune teller chuckled as her eyes suddenly became more cat-like, "I see a very deep future between the two of you. A bond that will grow throughout the years and even when both of you will pass on, blood will remain."

Kiba, Shino, Sakura, and Naruto all looked at the fortune teller with questioning looks as Kiba held Hinata in his arms, trying to get her to wake up. But before they could say anything more, the fortune teller turned her attention onto Sakura.

"My dear, you have been separated from your lover for a very long time now haven't you?" Crystal asked innocently as she tilted her head and continued to wave her hands around her Crystal ball.

Sakura blushed a deep crimson as the rest of the group stared at the two women with widen eyes, unsure of what to say. But slowly, Sakura nodded her head to answer the fortune teller.

"There's no reason to be shy my dear, Love is a natural part of life and I have dealt with cases more complicated than yours. Yes, you shall be reunited with him very soon. I can see it very clearly." Crystal said as her eyes began to glow an intense shade of yellow and her pupils became more cat-like.

That's when Sakura caught her breath and slammed her hands on top of the table, frightening a couple of passerby's who looked over with shocked expressions. "What do you mean by soon?!" Sakura asked Crystal in a shaky tone.

"I mean that your lover will be arriving tonight on the Firework Festival, he will be arriving where things began and where goodbyes where shared." Crystal replied in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Smiling, she leaned forward and gently kissed Sakura's hand. Confusing the Kunoichi and her group as they watched.

But the kiss was different, somehow it conveyed images that were being drawn out of her memories. Even though they were blurry at first, she eventually received a clear image and her heart quickened in pace once she finally realized what the images were of: _**The bench**_.

"I-I need to go now... **I NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW!**" Sakura yelled as she turned her heels away from the stall and ran towards the direction of the bench. Leaving her friends to call out her name in confusion.

Sakura's breath began to quicken as she raced pass the other Shinobi who were looking at her like she'd gone insane. But she didn't care what other people thought about her, because the only thing on her mind was getting to that bench in hopes that Sasuke would be there.

"_**Please Sasuke...please be there. I need to see you again...I miss you so much it hurts...I need to feel your arms around me again...PLEASE BE THERE SASUKE!**_" Sakura thought to herself when she finally reached the bench where she was left unconscious by Sasuke on the night he left the Village.

Breathing heavily, she looked straight ahead down the walkway lined with cherry blossoms and prayed that her intuition wasn't wrong. After a few minutes passed and there was no sign of Sasuke anywhere. Sakura felt a few tears threatening to break free from her eyes, but she was fighting them back.

"_**Please Sasuke...please be back home...**_" Sakura whimpered softly as her head slowly tilted down.

That's when she felt it, a soft hand wrapped around her waist that brought her closer to a warm chest behind where she stood. The scent of fresh rain water and wild flowers caught her nose and the warmth of his skin was so familiar that it ended her fight with her tears. A single warm tear rolled down her face as she heard his familiar voice say:

"_**Sakura...I'm home**_."

Sasuke had heard her plea.


	3. Chapter 3: A Touching Reunion

Chapter 3: A Touching Reunion

Everything felt like a dream. Sakura could feel her heart speed up and her face begin to flush softly as she slowly tilted her head to gaze up at Sasuke Uchiha's face. Who was gently smiling down at her as he held her close to his own body. He looked so much older now, even though they were the same age.

"What are you doing in the moonlight by yourself? Shouldn't you be with the others back in the Village?" Sasuke asked softly.

Sakura's eyes threatened tears as her lip began to quiver, "No you jerk...I ran away because I thought you'd be here."

"What made you think that? I could've been anywhere in the Village waiting." Sasuke stated as he scrunched his eyebrows slightly, showing his confusion.

Before Sakura started to tell Sasuke about the fortune teller name Crystal, she thought over the story in her head and realized that she would have sound like a complete lunatic. So she decided to lie a tiny bit about why she came to the bench.

"I felt something different in the air that I haven't felt in a long time, so I already knew something was off. But when I started to focus a bit more, I started to sense your chakra in the area. When I realized where it was coming from, I ran off without telling anybody where I was going." Sakura answered him with a soft tone to her voice.

Sasuke smirked and chuckled slightly, "Of course you'd be able to sense my presence before Naruto or even Kakashi, because you're the most analytical of the original Team 7. You must have seen this coming a mile away. But still..."

He turned Sakura around and he gazed into her eyes with a gentle expression on his face, "I'm glad to be with you again. I missed you while on my journey across the different nations and the different Shinobi countries."

"I-I've been so worried about you...I haven't heard anything about your whereabouts for ages and I was worried something terrible had happened to you." Sakura confessed as she leaned her head upon his chest, Sasuke instantly wrapping his arm around Sakura's waist as she did so.

Sasuke leaned his head upon hers in a comforting gesture as he replied, "You worry too much. Don't you know that I can take care of myself?"

"Ino and Lady Tsunade said the same thing. They said I worry too much and that I need to put more trust into your abilities." Sakura laughed softly.

"They're right though." Sasuke chuckled slightly.

Sakura glanced up from Sasuke's chest and stuck out her tongue, "Shut up."

That's when Sakura realized how close their faces were from each other, she could feel the warmth of his skin and the breathing patterns from his chest up against her body. Their faces were practically brushing up against each other and only a few inches away from a full on lip lock. Which the mere thought of them sharing a kiss in such a nostalgic place filled with memories they shared when they were kids made her heart beat go a little faster.

"Sasuke...do you remember the night that you left the Hidden Leaf Village to leave with Orochimaru? When I first confessed my love to you when we were 12 years old?" Sakura asked softly, her eyes filled with emotion.

Sasuke kept her gaze, but she could tell that the topic hurt him as he nodded his head slowly. "Back when I was 12, I only had one goal on my mind: To kill my older brother Itachi, I didn't want to get emotionally connected with anyone and the last thing I wanted to do was build a romantic relationship. But when I decided to leave the village, I realized something about you that I didn't realize until the night I left the Village: I fell in love with you."

"Wh-What?" Sakura replied, unsure of how to respond to the news she was just given.

Sakura lifted his hand from her waist and touched her cheek, gently brushing her skin with his thumb. "You don't remember what I did on the night I left the Village, but I laced my fingers through yours as I was contemplating on kissing you as you were knocked out...but I decided that would have been a betrayal to the both of us. Your love was the emotion that filled my existence and kept me going Sakura."

That's when the fireworks started to go off in the distance, an array of colors from the rainbow started to light up the sky and in the clear open sky with a full moon, it made the night around them seem all the more magical. Sakura felt like she was living out a dream and that she was asleep, but Sasuke's touch on her cheek was real. She felt his warmth seeping into her skin and she could feel her body up against his. This was real and she didn't want it to end ever.

"S-Sasuke I-" Sakura started to say, but she was cut off by an action she didn't expect in a million years: Sasuke kissed her gently on the lips.

The warmth of his lips put her in a Genjutsu like trance and almost like she was floating, she started to return Sasuke's advance and kissed him back. After all the trials that they went through together and after all the horrible heartache she went through, Sakura had finally learned the truth: Sasuke has loved her back since they were 12 years old in this exact same spot.

Even though everyone told her to give up on Sasuke, Sakura wouldn't listen to them and continued to love him despite the darkness that he was going through. She didn't give up on love and love conquered in the end. Because Sasuke loved her back and because he was the source of all her strength, she found that love didn't fail her mission on bringing Sasuke back. Love conquered like a roaring lion.


End file.
